——摘自《考研英语三层递进攻破阅读理解》
Text 5
Science, in practice, depends far less on the experiments it prepares than on the preparedness of the minds of the men who watch the experiments. Sir Isaac Newton supposedly discovered gravity through the fall of an apple. Apples had been falling in many places for centuries and thousands of people had seen them fall. But Newton for years had been curious about the cause of the orbital motion of the moon and planets. What kept them in place? Why didn’t they fall out of the sky? The fact that the apple fell down toward the earth and not up into the tree answered the question he had been asking himself about those larger fruits of the heavens, the moon and the planets.
How many men would have considered the possibility of an apple falling up into the tree? Newton did because he was not trying to predict anything. He was just wondering. His mind was ready for the unpredictable. Unpredictability is part of the essential nature of research. If you don’t have unpredictable things, you don’t have research. Scientists tend to forget this when writing their cut and dried reports for the technical journals, but history is filled with examples of it.
In talking to some scientists, particularly younger ones, you might gather the impression that they find the “scientific method” a substitute for imaginative thought. I’ve attended research conferences where a scientist has been asked what he thinks about the advisability of continuing a certain experiment. The scientist has frowned, looked at the graphs, and said “the data are still inconclusive.” “We know that,” the men from the budget office have said, “but what do you think? Is it worthwhile going on? What do you think we might expect?” The scientist has been shocked at having even been asked to speculate.
What this amounts to, of course, is that the scientist has become the victim of his own writings. He has put forward unquestioned claims so consistently that he not only believes them himself, but has convinced industrial and business management that they are true. If experiments are planned and carried out according to plan as faithfully as the reports in the science journals indicate, then it is perfectly logical for management to expect research to produce results measurable in dollars and cents. It is entirely reasonable for auditors to believe that scientists who know exactly where they are going and how they will get there should not be distracted by the necessity of keeping one eye on the cash register while the other eye is on the microscope. Nor, if regularity and conformity to a standard pattern are as desirable to the scientist as the writing of his papers would appear to reflect, is management to be blamed for discriminating against the “odd balls” among researchers in favor of more conventional thinkers who “work well with the team.”
67. The author wants to prove with the example of Isaac Newton that .
［A］ inquiring minds are more important than scientific experiments
［B］ science advances when fruitful researches are conducted
［C］ scientists seldom forget the essential nature of research
［D］ unpredictability weighs less than prediction in scientific research
68. The author asserts that scientists .
［A］ shouldn’t replace “scientific method” with imaginative thought
［B］ shouldn’t neglect to speculate on unpredictable things
［C］ should write more concise reports for technical journals
［D］ should be confident about their research findings
69. It seems that some young scientists .
［A］ have a keen interest in prediction［B］ often speculate on the future
［C］ think highly of creative thinking［D］ stick to “scientific method”
70. The author implies that the results of scientific research .
［A］ may not be as profitable as they are expected
［B］ can be measured in dollars and cents
［C］ rely on conformity to a standard pattern
［D］ are mostly underestimated by management
核心词汇：
assert ［E5sE:t］vt.断言,宣称；坚持；主张（权利、权威等）（as表强调+sert→强行插入观点→断言）
auditor［5C:ditE］n.审计员（audit+or表人→旁听的人→审计员）
budget［5bQdVit］n.预算v.做预算（bud+get）。
conformity［kEn5fC:miti］n.一致，相符（conform +ity名词后缀→一致）
conform［kEn5fC:m］v.一致 ;适合(con共同+form形状→形式共同→一致)
consistent［kEn5sistEnt］a.符合的；可调和的 ;一贯的 ;可靠的；稳定的(consist由……组成；与……一致+ent形容词后缀→一致的);consistentlyad.始终如一地(con+sist+ent+ly)；名词形式为consistency←con+sist+ency名词后缀
convince［kEn5vins］v.使信服,使确信（con全部+vinc+e名词后缀→彻底征服对方→使确信）
distract［di5strAkt］v.分散;使分心;打扰;使心情烦乱（dis分开+tract→被拉开→分心，分散）
faithful［5feiWful］a.守信的,忠实的,如实的,可靠的
gravity［5grAviti］n.地心引力, 重力;严重性，重要性；严肃，庄重
imaginative［i5mAdVEnEtiv］a.有想象力的; 想象的，创造力的;.沉溺于想象的;虚假的(imagine想象，相像+ative形容词后缀→具有想象力的)
inquire［in5kwaiE］v.盘问，追究（in进入+quire→问进去→盘问）
keen［ki:n］a.锋利的;敏锐的;(on)热心的,渴望的
motion［5mEuFEn］n.运动,动;提议,动议v.提议,动议（mot+ion名词后缀→运动）
particular［pE5tikjulE］a.特殊的,苛求的,个别的n.详情,细节,特色（part+icuar有……的→有自己的部分→特别的）;particularlyad.特别地；显著地(Particul+ar+ly)
profitable［5prCfitEbl］a.有利可图的,有益的（profit+able形容词后缀→有利润的）
reasonable［5ri:znEbl］a.合理的,有道理的;通情达理的;适度的（reason+able形容词后缀）
register［5redVistE］vi.登记,注册;获得，取得，完成或达到;表达，扮出……表情流露外在的表象；表达;记录写下；记下(re再次+gister带来，产生→再次带来→学员注册，登记)
regularity［regju5lAriti］n.规则性；整齐；匀称（reg控制→规定+ular+ity名词后缀→整齐）
speculate［5spekjuleit］vi.思索；推测vt.投机；思索，推测（spec+ulate动词后缀→看准了→思考，投机）
substitute［5sQbstitju:t］n.代替者；替身；代用品v.（for）代替,替换（sub下面+stitute→在下面放着→代替）
supposedly［sE5pEuzidli］ad.想象上,大概；据推测(suppose+（e）d+ly，suppose（猜想；假设），ed形容词后缀，ly副词后缀)
underestimate［QndEr5estimeit］v.过分低估(under不足，不够+estimate估计→低估)
